Face Roller and Cooler Review: Pros, Cons and Science!

Yes, another post on more face equipment! This is the last such post for the time being, and this time I'll be looking at a face roller, which seems to be pretty popular lately, as well as a face cooler. I have with me the Panasonic Warming Facial and Body Roller EH-SP32-S, and the Panasonic Facial Cool Putter DH-SQ10-W. This is also part of the Singapore Blog Awards, so basically I'm given a loan set of these to review. (And again - if you guys want to vote for me, you can do so here! Once a day! Every day! Until July 6!)

If you've read my previous review on the Panasonic Face Steamer, then you'll know that 1) it's a pretty science-based post, and 2) although Panasonic is the sponsor of the Singapore Blog Awards, the review wasn't a "OMG THIS IS SO GOOD GUYS 10/10 WOULD RECOMMEND", pandering kind of review. And like that previous post, I'm also abiding the same principles - rely on the science, and don't pander. So, I'll be looking at the science behind both face rolling, as well as face cooling, and assessing the pros and cons of each of them, in addition to my own experience with the product.



Alright, since I have not one but two products to go through, this post is going to be quite heavy in terms of content. So I hope you've got yourself a nice cup of coffee to accompany you as we get through this post!

Face Steamer Review: The Pros, Cons, and Science of Face Steaming

As part of the Singapore Blog Awards, I was given a loan set of a bunch of Panasonic beauty products, including the Panasonic Face Steamer EH-SA31, for review. (Which reminds me - if you guys want to vote for me, you can do so here! Once a day! Every day! Until July 6!) Anyway, turns out that I also received the same Panasonic Face Steamer to review last year, so this year, instead of rehashing an old post, I'm going to talk more about the science of face steaming, which I didn't get to do in last year's entry. So, don't worry, this is not a rehash of last year's post - in fact, you'll find there is a lot that is different here!

For this review, I'll first start off with a short recap of my experience with the Panasonic Face Steamer EH-SA31 VP, and then go into what the science says about face steaming - does it really work? Is there any benefit in it? If so, what is the benefit? And is all that marketing spiel about detoxing your skin and letting you sweat all your toxins out true?

The thing about science-based posts is that as you might guess, the science isn't unanimously in favour of, or against, steaming your skin. There's some studies indicating that there could be a benefit, but of course there are some cons as well. I'm told that the "Best Beauty Blog" this year is apparently chosen by Panasonic company reps (I think?) based on these blogposts. I'm pretty sure my post, which isn't going to be all raving and "OMG THIS IS SUPER FANTASTIC IT'S THE BEST EVERYONE SHOULD USE IT", may not exactly be the desired type of post some people were hoping for. But the science says what it says, and I'm just reporting on what I've found - I'm not the one conducting the experiments, and I always believe in looking up the science and reporting on it in as unbiased a manner as I can, and that's not going to change. Also, I don't think I should blog any differently just because a post has a different context to it (in this case, the Blog Awards).

So, at the risk of annoying the very people who loaned me this product for review ("OMGZ people sent you this product for review and are using these posts as the basis for choosing a "Best Beauty Blog" and you're not going to be totally 100% positive? What's wrong with you?"), let's get this post going!

The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Review and Ingredients Analysis: Bath Tea, Body Butter, Body Scrub, Eau de Cologne

The Body Shop's Fuji Green Tea Collection, consisting of a Body Butter, Body Scrub, Eau de Cologne, and Bath Tea, has been getting quite a bit of raves from both bloggers and customers alike. I'm pretty late to the party (considering that this collection was launched here in April-ish?), but I figure better late than never, right? Right?

The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Body Butter, Body Scrub, Eau de Cologne, and Bath Tea

The Fuji Green Tea collection consists of some old favourites, such as the Body Butter and Body Scrub, as well as the Eau de Cologne, but also has a new product called Bath Tea, which is essentially a form of bath salts, but packaged like tea. Super cute! I've always been a pretty big fan of The Body Shop since my days as a University student in the US and UK - their Body Butters were my favourite thing to combat the rough, dry skin that I got as a result of the cold weather, so I was quite pleased to see that a new Body Butter scent has been released. (For the record, my favourite scent back then was the Cocoa Butter one, just because it smelled so comforting and yummy!)


The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea: Some old favourites like the Body Butter, and something new, like the Bath Tea
Anyway, let's skip the preliminaries and get to the review. There are 4 products I have to review, so it's going to be a long post! Buckle up and let's go!

Shameless Shilling Time: Vote and Win! I'm a Finalist in the Singapore Blog Awards!

Oh yes, it's going to be one of those shameless self-promotional "please vote for me" posts again! Aren't you glad these don't happen too often? The last time I did one of these was a year ago, so I guess that's good, right? Anyway, I'm a finalist in our local Singapore Blog Awards 2015, under the "Best Beauty Blog" category. And you can vote for me by clicking here: http://apps.facebook.com/panasonic_sg_vote/

Voting is allowed once per day, and ends 6 July, 3pm Singapore time (just google "time in Singapore" if you're not sure what the conversion is to your local time). All your votes also get entered to a lucky draw to win some prizes, so if you're lucky, you might win something too! I have to tell you though, when you access the voting application for the first time, you will have to register (they ask for basic info like name, email and so on - for those who don't have an NRIC number, any 4 numbers will do), but this is a one-time process, and subsequent votes will skip this process. The voting application will also ask you if you want to post to your Facebook wall about the voting and so on - this is totally not necessary for the vote, and you can just press "cancel" and continue on your merry way to vote.

Okay, I will stop rambling on, so that's it - if you want to vote for me, go HERE (Facebook login needed). For those who are a little confused by the voting process, I've made a handy step-by-step guide walking through the voting process! I figured if you're voting for me, I should have the decency to make it as easy as possible for you, hopefully! So if you want to see the tutorial, it's after the jump!

Benefit They're Real Mascara and Eyeliner Swatches: New Shades Brown, Blue, Green and Purple

Benefit Cosmetic's They're Real! Mascara and Push Up Liner now comes in several new shades, and I just had to swatch them for you! In addition to the current line up of basic black, Benefit is launching the They're Real! Mascara in Blue and Brown, and the They're Real! Push Up Liner in Blue, Brown, Purple, and Green. Looks like Benefit's mascara and eyeliner have been popular enough to warrant adding new shades - I was told at the event I swatched these at that the They'e Real Mascara is a classic, and the They're Real Eyeliner is selling well too.

This post isn't going to be too long, so without further ado, let's just get straight into the swatching fun!

Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Review and Ingredients Analysis (Reformulated Version)

Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Sunscreen with SPF50 PA++++ protection is new from Kiehl's this summer! I know I've already done a previous post on the Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Sunscreen, but this time round, the brand has reformulated its much-loved sunscreen, and so here is a "re-review" of the sunscreen. After all, summer is the time when people start paying attention to sunscreens, and since I gave the previous iteration of the Ultra Light Daily Defense a pretty good review, I thought it's good to check in again, to see if it's still deserving of the nice things I said about it the last time round.

Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Sunscreen: Still with SPF50, but now with PA++++

As you can tell, the packaging is pretty much still the same. Kiehl's claims that the new formulation of the sunscreen now offers better anti-aging protection, and in particular UVA protection (the type of sun exposure that causes long term aging - if you haven't yet, you can learn more in my post about sunscreen tips). This reformulation of the Ultra Light Daily UV Defense keeps the SPF value at SPF50, but the PA is now PA++++ rather than PA+++ as in the old formula.


Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense: With PA++++ instead of PA+++ for better anti-aging benefit
On a side note, I wish I had used the same bright orange paper background that I used the last time I reviewed the old formulation of the sunscreen, instead of this off-white cloth background. The off-white shade, combined with the various shades of white the sunscreen tube and box were, really messed up the white balance on the camera, and there's only so much GIMP can do to correct it. Oh well, the review is still written with the same set of brains, even if the photos are a little washed out this time round. So let's get started!